December | 2017 | International Book Promotion

Rajeev Saxena Image Source: https://www.bloomsbury.com/author/rajeev-saxena

Where are you from?

It’s global world now. How do you decide where a person is from? I was born in a place about which I have no memories as moved out when I was six months old. My parents come from a place called Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh that I have visited only once in my life. I’ve spent my childhood in small towns of Uttar Pradesh such as Atrauli near Aligarh, Mainpuri and Orai. US has been my home too. I’ve been staying in US almost for one third of my age so far. I hope this gives you the idea.

Why do you write?

To express myself. I feel that you have the full control of the world when you have pen in your hand. It gives wings to my imagination.

What do you write about?

This is my first novel so it’s difficult to answer this question. I’ve got great feedback so far including from several celebrities that my book cannot be bound to a genre. This is a book about a scientist who wants to change the world through his inventions. The main theme is that I want to bring scientists to the mainstream, I want them to be the part of our daily lives the way we have politicians or film actors. So instead of working on pure science research which is difficult to understand by general public, my character solves day to day problems through innovation.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I don’t want to be bound with any style. I’d choose a different style for different scenarios. For this novel, I’ve tried to write in simple English with a lot of humor inside so that the book reaches the general public.

What are obstacles that come in the way of writing?

The biggest issue was to find a publisher. As a new author, I had to wait almost for a year to get a publisher. Finally I was really lucky that Bloomsbury is publishing my book, the same guys who have published Harry Potter.

What’s the most memorable thing asked/said by a reader about your work?

Readers comments are coming in as the book was released just two weeks ago. ‘The book is simle and 90% of people will be able to relate to it,in a way.’

‘Pinto has an idea , can not be bound to a genre, that’s rare to come up with a book that is more like a life.’

I’m also honored to get great feedback from a few celebrities:

‘The moment I got the book, I could not resist finishing it in one go.
I hope the author writes a series based on Pinto.’
– SRIDEVI, Actress

A strong plot full of emotions, love, pragmatism and very importantly,
humour. The author has touched a genre which doesn’t exist in traditional
publishing in India. A must read, you shouldn’t miss it.’
– BONEY KAPOOR, Film Producer

‘Superb story. It brings you back to college days and soon takes you to your
professional journey. The humour is amazing.’
– MANU AGARWAL, CEO and Founder of Naaptol

‘Looks like the author is going to be a trendsetter.
It’s the first time I see romantic fiction raising social issues in a
highly entertaining and interesting fashion.’
– SANDEEP PANDEY, Social Activist and Magsaysay Award Winner

How long have you been writing?

It took almost two and a half years to complete the book. It’s not a simple story. It’s about innovative ideas which need a lot of thinking. Please also keep in mind that I was writing only during the week-ends as I am not a full time author.

When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?

When I was eight-year-old, I wrote my first story. As there was no social media back then, the circulation of my work was very limited. Since then, it has been in the back of my mind that I have to write a book. God has been kind to me. Finally I got this opportunity, though after a couple of decades.

What is your work schedule like when you are writing?

For me writing should not follow any schedule. Mostly I used my week-end to write. At the same time, whenever a thought comes to my mind, I immediately note it down and expand it later on. It all depends on the mood and the topic. Sometimes in one hour I can write several pages but other times I hardly produce any output for the whole day if I get stuck on one para.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I keep on thinking passively whenever I’m doing some other regular activity such as driving, taking shower or just watching TV. Whenever a thought comes to my mind, I’d immediately note down on my mobile phone and will eventually use in my writing at appropriate time.

How long does it take to write a book? (if you’ve written one -published or non)

It depends on three things:

What is the book about?
Who is writing?
What is the environment around the author?

Now, when I’m well-versed with the book writing process, I can probably write another one in one month. Ideally one can write a romantic novel where a lot of research is not needed, in six months. A book which I’ve written which is a novel as well as a little different novel i.e. talking about ideas and innovations, would take around one to one and half years.

Do you have suggestions on how to become a better writer?

I think I’m too new to give this kind of suggestion. If my opinion really matters, I’d say the plot is extremely important in a story. It’s like the heart. Without the heart, the body does not have any meaning. Give enough time to conceptualize the plot.

What challenges do you come across when writing/creating your story?

As a first time novelist, the biggest challenge is to avoid contaminating your characters from reality. A lot of things which happen around you make a space in your first book knowingly or unknowingly. When you write your second book, it doesn’t happen as you have already talked about it.

I’ve tried my best to make sure that my characters are 100% fictionalized. At the same time I’ve taken some liberty in using some of the locations and places which have been the part of my life. It’s my way of giving them respect.

What do you think makes a good story?

As I mentioned earlier, the plot is the most important. If you are a good author, you’d be able to craft characters and write dialogues. I have seen sometimes even very well-known authors have struggled with plots in some of their writings.

What does your family think of your writing?

They knew that I’ve been writing a little bit here and there. But I never produced anything significant which would put me in an official category of a writer. When my book was accepted by Bloomsbury, it came to them as a surprise. They are really proud of me.

Do you see writing as a career?

I’d be very frank. It’s not easy to decide writing as a career. Do I have willingness? Yes, of course. Readers will see more and more books from me. And If I get their blessings, yes, I’d love to switch to writing as a career.

Do you have anything specific you’d like to tell the readers?

Good books are like your true friends. Keep reading. Keep motivating new authors. I’d love to get your feedback about my book. Happy reading.

Do you have links that you’d like to share for others to read? (if so please include in your mail.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5a0f0465e4b0e6450602ea33

http://www.thecrazymind.com/2017/11/pinto-has-idea-interview-with-author.html

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=cQr6YmlloT4

https://rollingstonepictureproduction.wordpress.com/2017/12/26/interview-with-rajeev-saxena-author-of-pinto-has-an-idea/

Please feel free to connect me at Rajeev@RajeevSaxena.com or iAmRajeevSaxena@gmail.com or

just join me on my social media at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRajeevSaxena/ or at

https://twitter.com/iamrajeevsaxena . I’ll try to respond to you to the best of my ability.

Book Purchase… http://amzn.in/3BQ7NpA

and my website http://www.iamrajeevsaxena.com/

Where are you from? Breakfield is a Native Texan from Austin. Burkey moved to Texas from California and Breakfield bestowed the term ‘Naturalized Texas’ to her about 5 years ago, saying that she was more Texan than most Natives. It was a very moving ceremony of her touching the Texas flag and accepting citizenship in this state.
Why do you write? We write fictional stories because they are a lot more fun than stogie old technical documentation manuals. We simply like to convey a thoughtful and entertaining story.
What do you write about? With our over 25 years in the technology field we decided to focus on a combination of techno-thriller and science fiction. We take real technology and position it within relevant story lines to help spark the imagination of our readers.
Do you have a specific writing style? Storytelling for us is all about the personal interaction first, then the plot weaved in around the bad guys then the good guys. Taking today’s relevant technology and weaving the uses and misuses by the adversaries is our framework. From a co-authoring perspective, we rough out the direction of the story, not necessarily knowing where we actually expect it to end, and then rough out chapters. Chapters are reviewed by each of us to add elements we feel are needed or remove things deemed unnecessary upon review. It is a literary ping-pong match of sorts which in the end we assemble in to a story with one united voice. Polishing the chapters and the whole story is the writing exercise we feel is important to bring the best possible product to the literary market and our readers.
What are obstacles that come in the way of writing? As the phrase goes “Technology never sleeps”. Each of us have professional careers with separate companies. Breakfield is a renowned techno-geek who consistently works in the outer edges of technology for major companies. Burkey focuses on driving business value with optimizing technology and workflow practices to drive customer and workforce experience improvements. At times all that work and the demands of customers does cut into our writing time, but it provides great fodder for our stories.
What’s the most memorable thing asked/said by a reader about your work? There have been a comments and points of success we have really enjoyed. A review of our 1^st book in the series, The Enigma Factor said in their review “Move over David Baldacci, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and Clive Cussler. Burkey and Breakfield have created a storyline for the new millennium”; or winning the Texas Authors 2017 Best of Texas Books award for the entire series; or the ABR Reviewer’s Choice Award Winner for our second audible The Enigma Rising; or being on Good Morning Texas. We have so many more goals we want to achieve.
How long have you been writing? Counting today? Probably more years than we’re willing to admit. Burkey’s been writing since high school with poetry as a start, so a while at the least. Breakfield actually began in high school as editor and writer for what turned into an underground newspaper much to the high school faculty consternation. Apparently, he has always been Avant-guard when it comes to writing/publishing. Breakfield has been at it a bit less than Burkey.
When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer? Burkey was bit by the writing bug when she wrote technical white papers and suggested Breakfield do a few. They both wrote a couple of non-fiction technical documents which was the point where they decided that technical documentation was just not our best destiny. It was shortly after this that Burkey suggested writing for fun and Breakfield reluctantly agreed. Halfway through writing The Enigma Factor, Breakfield was totally hooked on the idea of fictional writing. The first clue was when he quoted Bette Davis “Hang on, it’s going to be bumpy night, or something like that.” Where else can you take apart people who have been negative in your life, personal or professional, and make them beg for mercy? It’s like a liberation and you simply change names to protect the innocent. After all, Technology is today’s weapon of choice!
What is your work schedule like when you are writing? We each write as time permits, outside of our professional work schedules. Sometimes early mornings or late evenings and the weekends. But always back and forth for that polishing effort.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? Even our editor cannot tell who wrote what in the book. For us, it is the co-author thing and sounding like a single voice. We want to make certain we sound in the end the way the story was envisioned and then some.
How long does it take to write a book? (if you’ve written one -published or non) With 9 books in the series so far, we average two books a year. Recently we have worked a bit more on the marketing side so the latest released 8 months but we also won first place in Texas Authors with our short story
Do you have suggestions on how to become a better writer? Writing like many other things, such as humor from Burkey, is a practiced item. The more time you spend at the craft, the better the results. We also find get early readers to review and make comments a great way to see if the stories are resonating. We are always looking for committed beta readers.
What challenges do you come across when writing/creating your story? It is a combination of choosing relevant technology and how we want to present it. Frankly, the biggest problem is trying to focus since there is so much relevant info to work with. Each of our stories has a theme. Though it means more research to prove our points it is totally exhilarating to make a plausible tale that makes our readers think.
What do you think makes a good story? A good story is a mixture of many elements. For our focus it’s a balance of character interaction, technology and situations with dashes of humor, romance, travel, and intrigue patterned after real people.
What does your family think of your writing? We both have very supportive families for writing. Breakfield’s wife is our editor and the time she spends is awesome. We get a lot of encouragement but frankly some of them want to know if they are in the will.
Do you see writing as a career? At some point down the road have writing and speaking be the full time effort and career would be a dream come true. Some of the folks who have reviewed the stories have asked about them being made into television shows or movies which would also be a blast.
Do you have anything specific you’d like to tell the readers? We want reviews from our readers. Of course, the highest review possible would be awesome, but mostly a respectful reviews posted on outlets such as Amazon, Goodreads, or Audible Reviews are appreciated. Reviews help us do better writing as well as sharing with others.
When did you first consider yourself writers? Honestly when we started receiving checks for Technical White Papers and were asked to put together our first non-fictional technology book. The jump-in-with-both-feet happened when The Enigma Factor hit Amazon.